Expert: Fr. Michael - 2/23/2010

Question
Father, what are some of the names of the Catholic Churches most respected philosophers? Then, would you advise me on the safest approach to start doing a little reading on their writings and teachings? Thank you.

Answer
The Four Great Western Doctors of the Church are St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose of Milan, and St. Gregory the Great.  Of these, the most accessible is St. Augustine.  I would start with his Confessiones (Confessions), which is one of the classics of western literature and quite accessible.  If you can read Latin, you could get the Oxford University Press version.  Otherwise, the Loeb Classical Library version by Harvard University Press has both the original Latin and an English version.